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Lefant M210s: test / review
Published on: 13-07-2021 / Modified: 07-10-2022
I started my vacuum cleaner tester "career" in 2020 and it was a bit of a fluke as I needed a new vacuum cleaner, bought one, posted a test and saw that it brought me quite a few visitors. Since that first vacuum cleaner, I have tested 8 others and more are planned. I still don't consider myself an expert in the field (but is there such a thing?) but I'm starting to get enough perspective to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each product.
I'm now going to test the Lefant M210s vacuum cleaner from Bet&First, a brand new website that focuses on a limited handful of products at a very attractive price. This vacuum cleaner has the particularity of being very compact (both in height and width) and its price is much lower than other vacuum cleaner I have tested so far. I haven't tested any vacuum cleaners from this brand yet, so this will be a discovery.
Lefant
Lefant is a Chinese company founded in 2011 that first started out producing drones. Over time, Lefant has expanded by investing in research and development to produce its products produced and innovate. It was from 2017 that Lefant started to produce vacuum cleaners, they are not new to this field and the Lefant M210s completes their entry level range between 100 and 200€ with a quite complete cleaning robot.
bestandfirst.com
As I wrote above, the Lefant M210s is exclusively available on the new Bet And First platform. This is a new platform that aims to market a selection of quality products and be the first to offer them. This is actually the case for the Lefant M210s, it is not yet available anywhere else and you can buy it at a preferential price.
Lefant M210s
The M210s is an entry-level cleaner with a mop, but its main purpose is vacuuming. It is the smallest robot cleaner I have tested, measuring 27cm in diameter and 7.62cm in height, so it will fit in places where most other vacuum cleaners can't. Here are some of its features:
Size: 27cm x 7.5cm
Suction power: 1800 pa
Dust tank capacity: 500ml
Battery life: 100 minutes
Charging time: 3.5h
Here is a more detailed look at the vacuum cleaner:
The front panel is occupied at 180°C by the optical sensor, which is protected by a silicon strip at the top and bottom to avoid shocks. Unlike the vacuums I tested, the Lefant M210s doesn't have a shock sensor that will sink a bit depending on the obstacle encountered, I don't know if this will have an influence on object detection, I'll see that later in this test.
At the back there are two large air outlets, these outlets will eject the air sucked in by the vacuum cleaner. This means that everything behind could be blown away and pushed further. With my first attempt I saw that my canary's feathers were being blown farther because of this exhaust, but the vacuum cleaner eventually caught them when they ended up near a wall.
The Lefant M201s is equipped with a mop but it doesn't have a water tank, so it can't be considered a robot cleaner but in this price range that's perfectly normal.
The Lefant M210s is equipped with two brushes to transport the dirt to the suction area. Cleaners with two brushes are often more efficient than those with one brush, as they tend not to have to go over the same area several times. These brushes are protected by a plastic layer and this is a great idea, it's the first time I've seen this. This means that hair and bristles will no longer clump around the brush.
The dust tank has a capacity of 500ml. For a vacuum cleaner of this size this is already a large tank and if you run it regularly, you should be able to vacuum without interruption to empty the tank.
The charging cradle is fairly standard, simply place it against a wall and plug it into a mains socket. You will need to make sure that the cord is routed out of reach of the vacuum cleaner if you don't want it to get caught in it.
Unpacking
The box of the Lefant M210s is quite compact but Lefant has been quite generous with the contents as in addition to the cleaner you get 4 brushes, a spare Hepa filter and 2 mops.
Application
To control the Lefant M210s you need to download the Lefant Life application. This application is completely free and easy to use. You first need to create an account via a simplified procedure (receiving a code by email) and then associate the vacuum cleaner. I had no problem whatsoever associating the vacuum cleaner with the application, it worked the first time. The interface of the application is very simple because after selecting the cleaner you end up on a screen that will display the map of your home with the possibility to turn the cleaner on/off, start cleaning, activate the "smart" mode and make it return to the base. It is also possible to create scenarios such as starting the cleaner according to a schedule or according to the weather (I don't see the point but it is possible).
The robot cleaner will then map its environment and display the result in the application. The display of the map is quite coarse, the map looks like an 8-bit display from the 80s. Each obstacle is represented on the map with a big block, it's not very precise but it gives an overall idea of the mapping of your home. I didn't find it possible to create a room and send the cleaner to a specific place, so it will go through everything every time.
First time startup
The first use of a robot usually takes longer as the robot has to define its environment by walking around to detect obstacles. I started the robot cleaner with a 100% charge and let it walk around an area of about 45m². It took 71 minutes to cover this area and it went from 100% to 27% battery. The autonomy will therefore be around 100 minutes.
The robot traverses its environment on the basis of lines, it passes methodically everywhere by means of parallel lines and when it encounters an obstacle, it continues its course either before the obstacle or after the obstacle (depending on the obstacle encountered) and then returns to its trajectory at the next passage. This technique is quite common and the fact that the robot has two brushes means that it does not have to calculate its route by going along the walls first.
The Lefant M210s is not the most powerful cleaner I have tested, it does suck up most of the dust but if there is any dirt stuck to the floor it will struggle to get it off. The Lefant M210s will not replace human intervention but if you run it regularly, it will allow you to space out your interventions with another vacuum cleaner.
After working for 71 minutes, the robot returned to its base but the return to the base was rather laborious because it took another 10 minutes to find its base. I will see if it finds its base more easily after a second try.
Obstacle detection
The Lefant M210s is equipped with a large 180° panoramic sensor on the front, this panoramic block is equipped with several sensors that will help the robot map its environment and avoid obstacles. Its detection system works quite well, I have not seen it run at full speed into an obstacle, it gauges the size of the obstacle and if it is not too big the robot will push it slightly to see if it moves. It is of course always best to clear as much of your rooms as possible to allow the cleaner to pass but you have to be able to trust your vacuum cleaner not to spill anything. I have not had any problems with this vacuum cleaner but it is capable of carrying things with it. In the video you can see that it spins under a chair and is able to move it around, so don't leave things lying around that could spill.
Sucking on hard surfaces
As I wrote above, the Lefant M210s is smaller than the other robots I have tested and this will give it a significant advantage as it can more easily get through where others might get stuck. In the following video, you can see that the Lefant passes under the chair without any problem and there is even space between the top of the cleaner and the chair:
I then ran my breadcrumbs test by spreading out pieces of bread to see if the robot would be able to suck them up:
The verdict is pretty clear, the robot doesn't leave anything lying around, it managed to swallow all the pieces on the first try and even after going off in a different direction, no piece of bread escaped. I should point out that if these pieces are a bit bigger than the ones in this video, they could get stuck in the suction area, which is not very large. The Lefant does not have a rotating brush, so it cannot get stuck, but it could drag a piece of bread all the way through if a piece gets stuck in the suction area.
The Lefant is effective for hair, feathers and all the small everyday dirt provided that this dirt does not stick to the tiles because the Lefant is not very powerful and if a dirt presents a resistance, the Lefant may not be able to remove it.
I find that the programmed route works quite well although the total vacuuming time is longer than other vacuums I have tested. I notice that it returns to the same spot several times to leave some corners that it had left behind but it goes pretty much everywhere. Hard to reach corners will have to be vacuumed with a stick vacuum cleaner as the Lefant's brushes are too small to pick up dirt that would be stuck in a 90° angle (this is often the case with this type of vacuum cleaner).
Suction on carpet
Carpets are not the domain of robot cleaners because they are usually not powerful enough and to vacuum a carpet well, you often have to go back and forth. A robot cleaner is not designed to go back and forth over a carpet. In the video, you can see that it completely ignores the carpet and that its run over the carpet had little effect.
Running noise
The manufacturer's website advertises 61dB but the vacuum actually makes a bit more noise but the noise level is quite acceptable. You won't be able to sleep in the same room but a priori the noise shouldn't wake your neighbours.
Battery life
I don't have the possibility to make scientific measurements to measure the autonomy but after some tests, I estimate the autonomy will be between 80 and 100 minutes and for this autonomy, the robot should be able to cover a surface of 55 to 60m². It then needs about 3 hours to recharge and finish the job. If the surface to be vacuumed is really large, I advise you to divide the work as much as possible (e.g. by blocking a room) because the robot also needs time to find its base. If it gets to a low battery level and takes a long time to get back to its station, it could break down before reaching its station. This is a risk that exists on all such robots but the other robots I tested had more sophisticated software where the robot calculates how much energy it needs to return to its base.
Conclusion/Final review
The Lefant M210s is an entry-level robot cleaner that will appeal to an audience looking for an extra cleaner to remove everyday dirt like hair, fur, feathers, ... Its small size allows it to slip easily under your furniture, it can even slip between the legs of a chair.
With a suction force of 1800 pa, it is clearly not the most powerful but it does the job it is designed for. This cleaner will no doubt be an ideal companion for people with pets such as dogs, cats or birds in the home. Rather than having to vacuum the house every time your pets get dirty, you can set a daily schedule and the robot will do the job for you. However, manual intervention will be required for corners that are difficult for the robot to access.
- small size so it can fit in anywhere
- ideal for hair and feathers
- brushes with plastic protection against hair entanglement
- very easy to use, ready to use
Weaknesses
- suction power too low for embedded dirt
- no water tank
- no possibility to send it to clean a specific area
LAURENT WILLENHead of myself on this blog
I share my passions on my blog in my free time since 2006, I prefer that to watching nonsense on TV or on social networks. I work alone, I am undoubtedly one of the last survivors of the world of blogs and personal sites.
My speciality? Digital in all its forms. I have spent the last 25 years working for multinationals where I managed digital teams and generated revenues of over €500 million per year. I have expertise in telecoms, media, aviation, travel and tourism.
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